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| Sgurr a' Mhaim |
Ascent: 1664 metres
Distance: 16 kilometres
Time: 6 hours 54 minutes
Sgurr a' Mhaim 1099m 2hrs 15mins
Stob Ban 999m 4hrs 10mins
top 917m 5hrs 4mins
Mullach nan Coirean 927m 5hrs 28mins
It was a given day, the hardest overnight frost of the winter, not a wisp of wind and visibility that was better than excellent. Gregor had three remaining Munros of the Mamores to climb and I was just keen to take advantage of the forecast for some winter hillwalking. We left at 7:15am and made good time to Fort William, which included a stop on Rannoch Moor to try and capture the monochromatic winter conditions at sunrise. We parked at Achriabhach in Glen Nevis and started the walk at 9:45am. The glen was still in shadow with the steep profile of Sgurr a' Mhaim, the second-highest of the 10 Munros in the Mamores, threatening a couple of hours of hard exercise.
There was surprisingly little snow, although as we climbed higher the head of Ben Nevis looked like it had been washed in Omo set against the clear azure sky. The ground was rock hard but there were a few patches of black ice. The path is scored deeply into the steep slope but it was possible to keep an ascent pace of 10 metres a minute without overexerting. Gregor was pushing on ahead, although we would both stop occasionally to take photos as the skies brightened and the shadows shortened. I took a couple of detours to try and capture views of the Grey Corries and the Aonachs but I needn't have bothered they were revealed in all their glory at the summit.
We met a man from Selkirk at the summit who knew John, he was walking alone with his dog and had approached via the Devil's ridge and was to return by the same route. We chatted for a while and when he left I had a quick bite and some coffee, it was gone midday and Gregor was itching to get going in the freezing air. I had been slightly anxious about the Devil's ridge in winter conditions but the light snow cover made it easier if anything. There is a scramble at the low point, there are some narrow ledges that can be easily climbed even in mitts. We reached the end of the ridge below Sgurr an Iubhair, the deleted Munro, and followed the path that zig-zags down to Lochan Coire nam Miseach. It was frozen hard, the cracked ice magnified the pebbles and stones through the crystal clear water making it appear like a giant paper weight.
Above us was the magnificent east face of Stob Ban, the best of the Mamore Munros but a 250-metre climb from the lochan. At first by a gently undulating path and then steepening into a rocky scramble through the chunks of quartzite. It holds your concentration so time passes quickly and the rocky summit is one of Scotland's finest viewpoints. The Mamores extend eastwards with sharp ridges joining an array of pointy paps. It was a stone's throw to our earlier exploits on Sgurr a' Mhaim and the Devil's Ridge. Ben Nevis, the Aonachs and Grey Corries provide an imposing fortress of mountains to the north, the Glencoe and Southern Highlands were waves of grey-blue hills on the three dimensional horizon. They were too difficult to identify, not for lack of clarity, but because our eyes were arrested by the splendid alternative views. We finished lunch and the flask of coffee. My water bottle was frozen hard and I was becoming dehydrated. The sun was beginning to dip down in the south-west and Gregor urged me to head off if we were to be down before nightfall.
I had underestimated how long it takes to the next Munro, Mullach nan Coirean. It is 4 kilometres but it is mainly on the level with only three short ascents and the initial descent down the quartzite from Stob Ban needs some care. The light was fading and we had no time to linger at the summit of Mullach. Gregor had caught up on the football scores whilst waiting for me. I knew that the next part of the descent would be tricky, forestry plantations extend from the road up to the 300 metres contour and it is difficult to find the narrow paths through the plantations down to the forest roads that climb steadily by a series of switchbacks through the forest.
Gregor galloped away whilst I kept a steady pace. the path is steep, rocky and hard on the quads in the icy conditions. The final 150 metres of descent to the high stile over the deer fence adjacent to the Allt a' Choire Riabhaich was brutal with large rocks, frozen mud and some patches of black ice to endure at the end of the day. Beyond the stile there is a kilometre of narrow path through recently felled forest and by this time the light was fading. It took concentration to spot the steps, icy patches and tree roots that provided a testing obstacle course. I reached the forestry road that descends gradually down to the road but with two switchbacks it was a good 3 kilometres of walking away. Had I found the more direct path before descending to the lower stile I could have saved myself half an hour and a couple of kilometres. It was pitch dark, only the distant head torches of a couple of climbers descending Sgurr a' Mhaim providing any light. Gregor had been waiting at the car and was shivering, the temperature had already fallen to -4°C in the glen.
Apart from the last hour it had been the perfect day on the hills, we celebrated with a box of chips and a buttered roll at the excellent Real Food Cafe in Tyndrum and still made it home for 8pm.
There was surprisingly little snow, although as we climbed higher the head of Ben Nevis looked like it had been washed in Omo set against the clear azure sky. The ground was rock hard but there were a few patches of black ice. The path is scored deeply into the steep slope but it was possible to keep an ascent pace of 10 metres a minute without overexerting. Gregor was pushing on ahead, although we would both stop occasionally to take photos as the skies brightened and the shadows shortened. I took a couple of detours to try and capture views of the Grey Corries and the Aonachs but I needn't have bothered they were revealed in all their glory at the summit.
We met a man from Selkirk at the summit who knew John, he was walking alone with his dog and had approached via the Devil's ridge and was to return by the same route. We chatted for a while and when he left I had a quick bite and some coffee, it was gone midday and Gregor was itching to get going in the freezing air. I had been slightly anxious about the Devil's ridge in winter conditions but the light snow cover made it easier if anything. There is a scramble at the low point, there are some narrow ledges that can be easily climbed even in mitts. We reached the end of the ridge below Sgurr an Iubhair, the deleted Munro, and followed the path that zig-zags down to Lochan Coire nam Miseach. It was frozen hard, the cracked ice magnified the pebbles and stones through the crystal clear water making it appear like a giant paper weight.
Above us was the magnificent east face of Stob Ban, the best of the Mamore Munros but a 250-metre climb from the lochan. At first by a gently undulating path and then steepening into a rocky scramble through the chunks of quartzite. It holds your concentration so time passes quickly and the rocky summit is one of Scotland's finest viewpoints. The Mamores extend eastwards with sharp ridges joining an array of pointy paps. It was a stone's throw to our earlier exploits on Sgurr a' Mhaim and the Devil's Ridge. Ben Nevis, the Aonachs and Grey Corries provide an imposing fortress of mountains to the north, the Glencoe and Southern Highlands were waves of grey-blue hills on the three dimensional horizon. They were too difficult to identify, not for lack of clarity, but because our eyes were arrested by the splendid alternative views. We finished lunch and the flask of coffee. My water bottle was frozen hard and I was becoming dehydrated. The sun was beginning to dip down in the south-west and Gregor urged me to head off if we were to be down before nightfall.
I had underestimated how long it takes to the next Munro, Mullach nan Coirean. It is 4 kilometres but it is mainly on the level with only three short ascents and the initial descent down the quartzite from Stob Ban needs some care. The light was fading and we had no time to linger at the summit of Mullach. Gregor had caught up on the football scores whilst waiting for me. I knew that the next part of the descent would be tricky, forestry plantations extend from the road up to the 300 metres contour and it is difficult to find the narrow paths through the plantations down to the forest roads that climb steadily by a series of switchbacks through the forest.
Gregor galloped away whilst I kept a steady pace. the path is steep, rocky and hard on the quads in the icy conditions. The final 150 metres of descent to the high stile over the deer fence adjacent to the Allt a' Choire Riabhaich was brutal with large rocks, frozen mud and some patches of black ice to endure at the end of the day. Beyond the stile there is a kilometre of narrow path through recently felled forest and by this time the light was fading. It took concentration to spot the steps, icy patches and tree roots that provided a testing obstacle course. I reached the forestry road that descends gradually down to the road but with two switchbacks it was a good 3 kilometres of walking away. Had I found the more direct path before descending to the lower stile I could have saved myself half an hour and a couple of kilometres. It was pitch dark, only the distant head torches of a couple of climbers descending Sgurr a' Mhaim providing any light. Gregor had been waiting at the car and was shivering, the temperature had already fallen to -4°C in the glen.
Apart from the last hour it had been the perfect day on the hills, we celebrated with a box of chips and a buttered roll at the excellent Real Food Cafe in Tyndrum and still made it home for 8pm.
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| Rannoch Moor at first light |
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| Sgurr a' Mhaim from the start at Achnabhach |
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| Stob Ban from the slopes of Sgurr a'Mhaim |
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| Glen Nevis |
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| The Ben |
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| Ben Nevis and the Aonachs |
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| The Aonachs and Grey Corries |
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| Sgurr a' Mhaim approaching summit |
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| Grey Corries and Mamores |
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| Devil's Ridge |
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| Sgurr a' Mhaim across the Devil's Ridge |
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| Grey Corries |
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| Stob Ban |
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| Towards Glencoe |
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| Frozen Lochan Coire nam Miseach |
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| Path to Stob Ban |
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| Sgurr a'Mhaim and Devil's Ridge |
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| Summit of Stob Ban |
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| Mamores from Stob Ban |
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| Heading to Mullach nan Coirean |
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| Heading towards Mullach nan Coirean |
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| Stob Ban from west |
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| Mullach nan Coirean |
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| Mullach nan Coirean -checking football scores |
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| Trying to beat the sunset on the descent |
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